A drive for reform by Austrian priests, urging the ordination of
women and an end to celibacy, is meeting with widespread support,
according to a new survey published Monday.
A total 71.7 percent
of Austrians found the initiative "fair and adequate," with 64.7 percent
saying they would even sign a "call for insurbodination" launched in
June, according to the Oekonsult polling institute.
The so-called
"Priests' Initiative," signed by at least 200 clergymen, wants women and
married individuals to be allowed to be ordained as priests, an end to
the celibacy rule and the right for laymen to preach.
Members of other Christian faiths and anyone who has divorced and remarried should also have the right to communion, it says.
Among
those surveyed, 30.7 percent agreed that women and married people
should be allowed to become priests, while 24.1 percent favoured the
abolition of the Roman Catholic Church's celibacy rule.
Some 86.8
percent of respondents said celibacy created more problems than it had
advantages for the Church, the Oekonsult survey showed, and 84 percent
believe that a refusal by the Catholic Church to reform could further
alienate believers.
A majority Catholic country where every
classroom and hospital ward still boasts a crucifix, Austria has
nevertheless seen a significant flight from the Church following a sex
abuse scandal last year.
Pressure from the initiative could help
the Austrian Roman Catholic Church argue to the Vatican that reforms
were unavoidable, according to 73.8 percent of those polled.
The survey was conducted from July 20 to August 28 among 1,265 Austrians.